Post by toweringniceguy on Jun 8, 2007 14:29:05 GMT 10
t could be the answer to the prayers of millions of men.
Scientists have coaxed stem cells into growing hair for the first time, it has been revealed.
At present, there are 7.4 million people affected by baldness. But within a decade, advances in stem cell science could help them to regrow their own hair, reports the Daily Mail.
Writing in the journal Nature, the scientists described how they had shown that adult mammals are able to grow new hair follicles.
The discovery that it is possible to develop new follicles later in life paves the way for new hair loss treatments.
The University of Pennsylvania researchers made their discovery when studying the process of wound healing in mice.
They found that as the wound heals, new hair follicles form underneath the new skin - allowing new hair to sprout.
Although all work so far has been carried out in mice, the researchers are hopeful a similar technique could lead to treatments for humans.
Dr Denis Headon, a developmental biologist from Manchester University, said: "Up to now we thought that the number of hair follicles we have is set before we were born and can only go downhill from there.
"This work shows that new hair follicles are made in adult skin, at least when it is healing a wound. The implication is it might be simpler than we thought to make new hair follicles as a treatment for hair loss."
Scientists have coaxed stem cells into growing hair for the first time, it has been revealed.
At present, there are 7.4 million people affected by baldness. But within a decade, advances in stem cell science could help them to regrow their own hair, reports the Daily Mail.
Writing in the journal Nature, the scientists described how they had shown that adult mammals are able to grow new hair follicles.
The discovery that it is possible to develop new follicles later in life paves the way for new hair loss treatments.
The University of Pennsylvania researchers made their discovery when studying the process of wound healing in mice.
They found that as the wound heals, new hair follicles form underneath the new skin - allowing new hair to sprout.
Although all work so far has been carried out in mice, the researchers are hopeful a similar technique could lead to treatments for humans.
Dr Denis Headon, a developmental biologist from Manchester University, said: "Up to now we thought that the number of hair follicles we have is set before we were born and can only go downhill from there.
"This work shows that new hair follicles are made in adult skin, at least when it is healing a wound. The implication is it might be simpler than we thought to make new hair follicles as a treatment for hair loss."
